By Louisa Cleave
The first big exhibition of art from a collection controversially moved from Hamilton to Auckland more than two years ago opens at the New Gallery today.
Home and Away is a show of 48 contemporary works by New Zealand and Australian artists from the 600-piece Chartwell Collection.
The privately owned hoard is valued at more than $20 million and was transferred to the Auckland gallery to the dismay of Waikato art-lovers.
The collection's trustees, angry at Hamilton City Council's restructuring of the Waikato Museum of Art and History, put the art in the care of Auckland and stipulated that it must exhibit a selection of the works at least every three years.
A critic of the restructuring, Hamilton artist Peter Dornauf, said he would visit the show in Auckland, but was still mourning the collection's removal from the Waikato.
"Our kudos has gone; the draw-card that would have come with having this collection. All the kudos is going to Auckland.
"It will be a marvellous showpiece.
"It's just a tragedy that it's not going to be down here."
Exhibition curator William McAloon said Home and Away was not about the Hamilton relationship "or the politics."
"It's about this fantastic collection. It is the first really big show in nearly a decade."
He said the show featured some of the "greatest hits" in the collection - works by Colin McCahon and Australian artists Rosalie Gascoigne and Mike Parr - and younger contemporary artists such as Shane Cotton and Peter Robinson.
A 144-page catalogue has been produced for the exhibition.
Home and Away is at the New Gallery until August 22. It is then likely to tour Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wellington and Dunedin.
The gallery has not found an Australian venue interested in taking the exhibition.
Art's first airing after controversial move
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